Path: kernighan.cs.umass.edu!barrett From: darren@mgl.ca (Darren Eveland) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: REVIEW: Picasso IV Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.graphics Date: 17 Feb 1997 20:47:37 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 249 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <5eag59$bak@kernighan.cs.umass.edu> Reply-To: darren@mgl.ca (Darren Eveland) NNTP-Posting-Host: knots.cs.umass.edu Keywords: hardware, graphics, Zorro, commercial X-Review-Number: Volume 1997 Number 2 Originator: barrett@knots.cs.umass.edu PRODUCT NAME Picasso IV graphics card. Board Revision 1.2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION High resolution graphics card for Zorro II/III Amigas. Integrated flicker fixer, PCI bus, 4 megabytes of 45ns EDO RAM. Optional modules: Pablo II video encoder, MPEG-1 Decoder, 3D module, PowerPC module, 16-bit Sound module, TV-Tuner module. Includes Picasso 96 RTG software. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Village Tronic Marketing GmbH Address: Wellweg 95 D-31157 Sarstedt Germany Telephone: +49(0)50 66 / 70 13-0 FAX: +49(0)50 66 / 70 13-49 E-mail: support@village.de Web: http://wwwcip.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/~etk10317/etc/Picasso96.html LIST PRICE $439.00 US DEMO VERSION Picasso 96 software may be used on other graphics cards. It is available on Aminet (ftp.wustl.edu) or on the Picasso 96 home page: http://wwwcip.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/~etk10317/etc/Picasso96.html SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE Zorro II or III Amiga Amiga OS/ROMs Version 3.1 68020 or better CPU Also recommended: Hard disk, extra RAM, multisync monitor COPY PROTECTION None. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga Technologies A4000T 68040 25Mhz, 18 meg ram Kickstart 40.70, Workbench 40.42 (3.1) 1.0 Gig hard disk Nanao T2-17TS 17" monitor (30-86Khz) Picasso IV and Picasso 96 version 1.8 INSTALLATION Before you install the card you must install the supplied Picasso 96 software. (note it is recommended that you download the latest Picasso 96 software from Aminet). The installer program prompts you through the installation. Also, remove Multiscan and the dbl monitor files from DEVS:Monitors and put them in SYS:Storage/Monitors. Open screenmode preferences and save your screenmode to a NTSC or PAL mode. Open up your Amiga and install the Picasso IV into an empty Zorro/Video slot (in-line). A2000 users must use the supplied cables since the video slot is not in-line on that Amiga. You must FIRMLY push the Picasso IV into the slot. In my A4000T I had to use almost all my weight to get the card fully seated. Put the case back on your Amiga, connect your monitor to the Picasso IV's 15-pin connector, and reboot your Amiga. All 15Khz NTSC/PAL modes now be 30Khz due to the built in flicker fixer. Open up screenmode preferences and you should have the Picasso IV screenmodes available. REVIEW The card itself is well designed - no last minute "fixes" can be seen. There's are lots of connectors and jumpers, but I did not have to touch any of them. It is packaged in a plain white box with the big letters "Picasso IV" written on the top. No fancy package cover like they had for Picasso II! The Picasso 96 software is still in beta status, but it does work very well and is easy to use. It includes drivers for: ShapeShifter, AdPro, Photogenics, and XiPaint. A replacement "picture.datatype" is included so that programs that support datatypes can use a 16 or 24-bit display. Picasso 96 is also compatible with programs written for CyberGraphX. For example Photoalbum and Cybershow will work on 16 and 24-bit screens. So far I have tested the following software: MUI, MagicWB, Miami, Digital Quill, Voyager, AmIRC, AmTelnet, AmFTP, Aweb, YAM, ShapeShifter, CyberShow, Photoalbum, and Ibrowse. All work without problems! I now regularly use a 1024x768x16-bit workbench - quite fast for everyday use. Even though I have the crippled A3640 card, the Picasso IV is still much faster than an AGA 8-bit workbench. Voyager is excellent on this workbench. Fast scrolling. Great pictures at 16-bit. The difference between this and an AGA Amiga is night and day. The Picasso IV really breathes live into the Amiga! Graphics card speed and also CPU speed are critical factors. If you were to put a 040 or 060 accelerator inside your Amiga it would considerably speed up access to the Picasso IV. DOCUMENTATION Documentation is supplied via a 38 page German manual! I have been told that the English manual has just been completed, and this will ship with all future Picasso IV's to all English speaking countries. In the mean time, there is lots of information available via the Picasso mailing list, and the World Wide Web to help you get started. The English version of the manual is even available for download. LIKES The Picasso IV hardware is very versatile - many optional modules are planned. The Picasso 96 software itself is very simple to install and use. In fact you hardly know it is there! It seamlessly integrates into the Amiga Operating system. There is also 2 options for screenmode configuration. The supplied PicassoMode 96 or the newer PicassoMode96 NG "Next Generation". The NG version will automatically make many of the adjustments necessary when configuring screenmodes. The card seems to be FAST in 16 and 24-bit modes. I cannot see much if any slow down from 8 to 16 to 24-bit. Yes there is some, but the 16 and 24-bit modes are fast enough for everyday use. In comparison they are about as fast as a 4 or 8 colour workbench on an AGA Amiga! Screen swapping is EXTREMELY fast on this card. Just as fast as an AGA Amiga! DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS The flicker fixer does not "pass-thru" Multiscan and dbl modes. I wish Village Tronic would have allowed for this. The card has a bandwidth limitation of 85Mhz in all 16 and 24-bit modes. So for example a mode of 1280x1024x16-bit @ 75Hz refresh is NOT possible. If you wish to use this mode on the Picasso IV you would have to settle with a 46Hz refresh rate. Interlace modes, however, are available. I would recommend 1024x768x16 or 24 @ 80Hz refresh. This is a nice size for a 17" monitor, and provides a very flicker free screen. There is no screen dragging available in Picasso 96. I suggest you visit the following WWW sites for some excellent information on Picasso IV: http://www.vgr.com/picassoiv (thanks to Robert Reiswig) http://ftp.tu-dresden.de/~deck/pic96/index.html (thanks to Jens Langner) COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS I have owned the GVP Spectrum, Cybervision 64, and now the Picasso IV. The Picasso IV can be compared closely with the CyberVision 64 (no longer available) from phase 5 digital products. VS. GVP Spectrum... The Picasso IV is much faster than the GVP spectrum in 16 24-bit modes. Due to the 4 megabytes of EDO video memory, it can also have 16 and 24-bit colour depths at higher resolution (for example 24-bit at 1024x768 at 80Hz refresh non-interlaced!). In these higher depth modes the card is still very fast. VS. CyberVision 64... In comparison to the original CyberVision 64, the Picasso IV seems again to be faster in 16 and 24-bit modes. However, the mature CyberGraphics software seems to be more optimized in some specific operations. Both cards provide fast, high resolution workbenches. The Picasso IV has a built in flicker fixer, whereas the CyberVision 64 has a "pass-thru" that leaves Amiga-generated video modes untouched. Both cards are excellent. The Picasso IV should soon have the optional modules released (Pablo II, TV-Tuner, etc...) The CyberVision 64 also boasted optional modules, but the support for these was dropped by S3, so phase 5 did not release them. BUGS Surprisingly, I did not find much in the way of bugs. The Picasso 96 software is extremely stable, even at this early stage. However, it is clear the software can be optimized (for example front/back movement of windows is slow). VENDOR SUPPORT I have not had to contact the vendor. WARRANTY Unknown, but probably 90 days. CONCLUSIONS Excellent high resolution/colour depth card for Zorro II/III Amigas. If you are looking for a fast 16 or 24-bit workbench at high resolution, expansion potential through additional modules and a built in flicker fixer, then the Picasso IV is right for you. One thing I find quite excellent about this board, even early on, is the tremendous support available for it on the Internet. There are already several Web pages dedicated to this card. Picasso 96 software is also frequently updated by its authors. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1997 Darren Eveland. --- Accepted and posted by Daniel Barrett, comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews Web site: ftp://math.uh.edu/pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews/index.html